The Troublemakers
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: They had a bit of a complicated relationship. Taichi's way of explaining it was that he was supposed to protect her; her way was that he was the role-model and, all things she wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole aside, the one she looked up to and wanted to be like.


**A/N:** Written for the 100_digifics challenge on the Digimon fanfiction Challenges Forum (link's in profile), prompt #013 – starlight.

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><p><strong>The Troublemakers<strong>

Taichi was supposed to be the troublemaker. He was the one who always manage to ruffle Miko's fur the wrong way or step on her tail and earn a cutting punishment from her claws. Or he'd leave tracks of mud on the carpet and the wall, or knock down a lamp while kicking the soccer ball about indoors, or going out to play when he was supposed to be doing his chores, and earning a thorough scolding from their mother. Hikari was the one who gave Miko a gentle brushing and a saucer of warm milk, who tried to scrub at the mud with a wet towel, who dutifully did her chores (and sometimes her brother). But sometimes everyone else forgot she was also the one who snuck out to sit on the roof with Miko, who'd bring stray dogs into the apartment when anything larger than Miko wasn't allowed, who'd use all the milk in the fridge feeding the stray cats in the alley way and who'd take the leftovers they were supposed to have for lunch out for some homeless man to enjoy.

It was usually Taichi who caught her transgressions, and Taichi who either rebuked or entertained her. When she was up on the roof, he'd fret a little and then come up to sit with her. 'You might fall,' was his excuse, but he was sitting comfortably beside her and she knew it was just an excuse. His reflexes may be sharp after all the soccer he played, but he wasn't comfortable enough in them to risk his little sister's life. When it was the strays though, he'd be firm. 'You know they can't stay here.' And so they'd be well on their way before the adults came home – leaving, sometimes, a broken lamp behind.

Sometimes it was a chain effect: she'd find a stray dog, bring him home, watch a lamp break courtesy of said dog, lead him back outside, watch Taichi take the blame for the broken lamp, wander upstairs, watch Taichi's head pop up followed by the rest of him…and then he'd join her, and they'd have a quiet few minutes just staring up at the sky. Sometimes it'd be night by that time, and they'd make it a stargazing date, in which Hikari tried to be the diligent student and spot all the familiar constellations, and Taichi distracted her by pointing out ones that he'd made up for their amusement. And then they'd sneak back into their room by climbing down to the balcony, and Taichi would knock over another lamp on the way in, and their mother would appear to scold him again and Hikari would be torn between giggling and feeling guilty…

They had a bit of a complicated relationship. On the outside, they were the typical older brother always getting into trouble and angelic little sister. But within their home she was the one who'd whistled nonsense that Taichi always had to translate until she'd turned four and surprised everyone by speaking in full sentences. She was the one who sometimes stole Taichi's meatballs to give to Miko as a little treat. And, of course, she was in a round-a-bout way responsible for roughly half of the broken lamps – which she had a feeling her mother was well aware of by that point, because while Taichi bore the brunt of the scolding, the punishment came in the form of cutting both of their allowances.

Taichi's way of explaining it was that he was supposed to protect her; her way was that he was the role-model and, all things she wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole aside, the one she looked up to and wanted to be like. And he'd laugh when she'd say it, and point out she was already a better trouble-maker than him – but then she'd point out how their punishments were almost always joint: cut allowances, early bed-times (they shared a room after all), no going out… It was only school-related punishments and the scolding she managed to evade. And she'd much rather get a detention or two, because no-one else looked at her the way Taichi did. Not her schoolmates, who thought she was too angelic, too perfect, to be on the same level as other mortal beings. Not like the strays she always found on the streets, who probably saw her as a little charity fairy too. Not like the teachers who thought she'd be the perfect little role model in society once grown. Not like Taichi's friends: Sora and Yamato – because she was just their friend's little sister who always tagged along. Not like their parents, who she knew loved her just as much, but couldn't help but distinguish her as the baby girl of the family.

Taichi knew all about the mischievous side of her, and the side that caused trouble she didn't always intend, and he wouldn't turn a blind eye. Rather, he'd poke her until she screamed her giggles when she read his mail, or he'd grumble all the way home when she'd handed his lunch to the homeless man at the train station, or he'd laugh when she tied up his shoelaces as a punishment for getting mud all over her favourite dress, or climb up to join her when she sat on the roof and stared at the stars. And all the little exchanges they had became a comfortable norm, so she ceased to feel guilty when a dog knocked over the lamp and Taichi quailed under their mother's glare – because they shared the main punishment anyway.

Maybe…maybe all that had made Hikari a little blind, because she hadn't realised that beneath their troublemaking fog of fun, Taichi did see her as that pure white angel too. She _didn't_ realise, not until years after the Digital World, years after she'd made friends who'd learnt all about the real her too. And it was a passing comment to her husband-to-be on her wedding day that had clued her in – or, more specifically, the discussion afterwards with said husband. After all, Kouishiro had to learn sooner or later he couldn't keep secrets from his wife – even if Taichi had managed to keep one from his little sister.

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><p><strong>Post AN:** Lol, threw in a little Koushiro/Hikari at the end. Mostly because Koushiro is the one who knows best Taichi's relationship with Hikari I think, being there when Taichi was most vulnerable about it. Sora's too maternal, I don't think Hikari or Tai interacted much on that particular level with Jyou or Mimi, and I think Yamato and Takeru – well, that's a story for another day I think. It was mostly a reference to Koushiro knowing about how Taichi felt about Hikari falling ill, something he doesn't mention to anyone else (sans Agumon and Tentomon). As to how they get together. :D No idea; it's a sibling fic after all.

There's also the confusing bit in the dub where (Hi)kari states their apartment doesn't allow pets in reference to Salamon – and they have Miko. Salamon did look a little bigger than Miko, though it's hard to tell considering they were never side by side. So maybe it's a size limit? Or something the dub did out of continuity of the sub? I'm not proficient enough in Arabic to pick it out of the Arabic version which is more faitful, and I've only seen Xros Wars and part of 02 and 04 (Ken and Kouichi bits in particular) in sub.


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